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IDYLLS AND EPIGRAMS. 



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IDYLLS AND EPIGRAMS 



Clrieflg frmn the (gmk gmt^clagg. 



BY 

RICHARD G A R N E T T. 



ISatds kol Tla(pi7]s eTrXero Kovpos ^Epcos. 



pontoon : 
MACMILLAN AND CO 

1869. 



^ 

^ 



LONDON I 

R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, 

BREAD STREET HILL. 



' 



* 



I 



TABLE OF AUTHORS. 

*** Imitations and. paraphrases are marked *: 



NO. AUTHOR. 

I. . . — — . . . . R. Garnett. 

II The same. 

Ill Moschtcs. 

IV.* Meleager. 

V . Plato. 

VI Myrintis. 

VII . Moschus. 

VIII Bion. 

IX TJie sa7ne. 

X Agathias. 

XI.* Mnasalcas. 

XII Marcus Argent arms. 

XIII R. Garnett. 

XIV. Antiphihis. 

XV. A7ionyj7ious. 

XVI Leonidas of Tarentwn. 

XVII Antipater of Sidon. 

XVIII Meleager. 

XIX Leonidas of 'Tarent?t?n . 

XX . Philippus. 

XXI Alphetcs. 

XXII Sophocles. 

XXIII Ptolemy. 

XXIV Marcus Argent a?-i its. 

XXV Plato. 

XXVI. Meleager. 

XXVII Rufinus. 

XXVIII Martial. 

XXIX Ano7iymoits . 

XXX Meleager. 

XXXI Strato. 

XXXII. . Meleager. 



vi Table ' of Atcthors. 



NO. AUTHOR. 

XXXIII Afarcus Argentarius. 

XXXIV Sannazaro. 

XXXV Statyllius Flaccus. 

XXXVI. * Meleager. 

XXXVII Agathias. 

XXXVIII Philodemus. 

XXXIX.* Marcus Argentarius. 

XL.* Asclefiiades. 

XLI R. Garnett. 

XLII Meleager. 

XLI 1 1 Agathias. 

XLIV. . R. Garnett. 

XLV Pauhis Silentiarius. 

XLVI Agathias.^ 

XL VI I Pauhis Silejitiarius. 

XLVIII R. Garnett. 

XLIX The same. 

L.* Meleager. 

LI Pa7chis Silentiarius. 

LI I Meleager. 

LI II. . Eubulus. 

LIV Meleager. 

LV Lucillius. 

LVI Rufijius. 

LVII R. Garnett. 

LVI 1 1 Rufimis. 

LIX Agathias. 

LX. Callimachus. 

LXI. . , Aniifiater of Sidtm. 

LXI I.* Gaetulicus. 

LXI 1 1 R. Garnett. 

LXIV Evenus.' 

LXV Anonymozis. 

LXVI Anony7itous. 

LXVII Agathias. 

LXVIIL* Julianus. 

LXIX.* Plato. 

LXX.* The same. 

LXXI . . R. Garnett. 

LXXIL* A7ionymo2is. 

LXXI 1 1 Leonidas of Alexandria. 

LXXIV.* Plato. 

LXXV Paulus Silentiarius. 

LXXVI Agathias. 

LXXVII R. GametU 

LXXVI 1 1 Agathias. 

LXXIX Callimachus. 

LXXX Leonidas of Tare7itum. 

LXXXI Nicarchtis. 

LXXXII R. Garnett. 

LXXXIII The same. 



Table of Authors. vii 



NO. AUTHOR. 

LXXXIV Agathias. 

LXXXV Rhianus. 

LXXXVI R. Garnett. 

LXXXVII EupJwrion. 

LXXXVI 1 1 . Agis. 

LXXXIX Callimachus. 

XC* Leonidas of TarenUim^ 

XCI Anonymous. 

XCII Litcian. 

XCIII R. Garnett. 

XCIV.* Maecius. 

XCV.* Philippics. 

XCVI Macedonius. 

XCVII Apollonidas. 

XCVIII Plato. 

XCIX Macedonius. 

C Mnasalcas. 

CI Isidorus. 

CI I Simonides. 

CI 1 1 Anonymous. 

CIV. . . . ^__. . . Carphyllides. 

CV Anonymous. 

CVL* Heracletus. 

CVII. Erinna. 

CVIII Callimachus. 

CIX Lucian. 

CX Zonas. 

CXI Anonymous, 

CXI I Anonyjnous. 

CXI 1 1 Asclepiades. 

CXIV Automedon. 

CXV Crinagoras. 

CXVI Antipater of Thessalonica. 

CXVII Plato. 

CXVIII. . Anonymous. 

CXIX Anonymous. 

CXX , Callimachus. 

CXXI The same. 

CXXIL* Julianus. 

CXXIII. ....... Meleager. 

CXXIV Alexander Aetolus, 

CXXV. ....... Mnasalcas. 

CXXVI Meleager. 

CXXVII Agathias. 

CXXVI 1 1 Lucillius. 

CXXIX Lucian. 

CXXX Antipater of Thessalonica. 

CXXXI.* Macedonitcs. 

CXXXII Lucillius. 

CXXXIII Martial. 

CXXXIV.* Palladas. 



viii Table of Authors. 



NO. AUTHOR. 

CXXXV Leo7iidas of Alexandria. 

CXXXVI R. Garnett. 

CXXXVII Thesa??te. 

CXXXVIII.* Lucian. 

CXXXIX.* . Anonymous. 

CXL Anony?no?ts. 

CXLI . . R. Garnett. 

CXLII The same. 

CXLIII The same. 

CXLIV The same. 

CXLV Martial. 

CXLVI. ....... R. Garnett. 

CXLVII.* ....... Palladas. 

CXLVI 1 1 Nicarchus. 

CXLIX. ....... Antiphilus. 

CL. . R. Garnett. 

CLI The same. 

CLIL* Macho. 

CLIIL R. Garnett. 

CLIV Lucillius. 

CLV. * The same. 

CLVI R. Garnett. 

CLVII Martial. 

CLVIII R. Garnett. 

CLIX. Antipater of Sidon. 

CLX . Lucian. 

CLXI R. Garnett, 

CLXII The same. 

CLXI 1 1 The same. 

CLXIV Philodemus. 

CLXV R. Garnett. 

CLXVL* . Marctcs Argentaiitis. 

CLXVII Paulus Silentiarius. 

CLXVIII Lucian. 

CLXIX The same. 

CLXX. ....... The Talmud. 

CLXXI. . Philodemus. 



IDYLLS AND EPIGRAMS 



I 

Hither, dear Muse, I pray, and with thee bear 

A madrigal for M elite the fair, 

Evil with good repaying ; for 'tis she 

Who tempts me to oblivion of thee. 

II 
The Muse invoked, whom next shall I address 
To grant my strain both merit and success ? 
May Phoebus melody, may Pallas sense, 
And Bacchus geniality dispense ; 
By Graces grace, passion by Venus be 
Bestowed, the love of Nature, Pan, by thee ; 
And last, without which all were not enough, 
Vouchsafe, most potent ^Eolus, a puff. 

in 

When gentle winds but ruffle the calm sea 
My breast courageous grows, and Earth to me 
Dear as enticing Ocean cannot be : 
But when the great main roars, and, white with 
foam, 

B 



2 Idylls and Epigrams. 

Huge waves tower up from it, and bellowing come 
To burst on land, I wistful seek a home 
In groves retired, where when the storm descends 
It brings but music to the pine it bends. 
Unblest, whose house the wandering billows bear 
With them, who strives with sea for fishy fare. 
But I beneath the broad-leaved plane will lie, 
Where some bright fountain, breaking forth hard by, 
Delights and not disturbs with bubbling melody. 



IV 

SPRING 

Winds sleep, snows melt, the sea's revolt is quelled, 
The blue of heaven unveiled, and Spring beheld, 
Scattering glad boons, a bright and fair-robed 

thing, ^ 
Whose path is life, as o'er the carpeting 
Of emerald earth she wends with gracious tread. 
Now leaves transparent with soft light are spread 
Forth from the quickening branch that sways and 

droops 
With blossom; now the meadows bloom with 

troops 
Of meek and pastoral flowers, where sits in peace 
The shepherd piping for his flocks' increase. 
The ports are void, the issuing vessels strew 
A moving whiteness o'er the mirroring blue. 
With shouts and thrilling laughter, o'er the sod 
Bounding, the ivied Bacchante hails her God. 



1 



Idylls and Epigrams. 

Forth sally the thick bees, the feathery crowds 
Assemble on the branch, or from high clouds 
The note descends ; the river teems with swans : 
The thatch her swallow harbours ; halcyons 
Talk softly to the sea; and brake and dell 
Sequester the sweet throat of Philomel. 
Then, if the leaf be new, the bare earth clad, 
The flock prolific, and the shepherd glad, 
Furrowed the sea, and Bacchus served with songs. 
The hive astir, the air with winged throngs 
Peopled, and music breathed from every tree, 
Silent alone and thankless shall he be 
Whose gift 7 mid mortal men is melody ? 
Nay rather let him smite his lyre and sing 
Hymns with a happy heart to genial Spring. 



v 

PAN 

Peace, wooded crags, and gushings from the hill 
Of streams, and many-bleating flocks be still : 
For Pan is piping here with mellow strength, 
Framing his moist lip to the various length 
Of fitted reeds, while round him dancing move 
The river's nymphs, the Dryads of the grove. 



B 2 



Idylls and Epigrams. 



VI 

CUPID A SHEPHERD 
Thyrsis, who shepherds the Nymphs' flock, whose 

reed 
Pan cannot with his own sweet skill exceed, 
Oppressed with wine, lies slumbering by the brook, 
While Cupid tends his charge with borrowed crook. 
With speed, ye Nymphs, the imperilled flocks 

remove ; 
For sad it were, if wolves should eat up Love. 



VII 

CUPID A PLOUGHMAN 

Cupid, pert urchin, did himself unload 
Of bow and torch, and quiver take and goad, 
And bulls reluctant 'neath the yoke constrain, 
And trace the furrow, and disperse the grain, 
And looking up, " Good weather, Jove, or thou 
Shalt be a bull again, and draw this plough." 



VIII 

Young was I, when I saw fair Venus stand 

Before me, leading in her lovely hand 

Eros, whose drooping eye the herbage sought, 

And thus, " Dear herdsman, let my child be taught 

Music by thee," therewith she went away. 

Then did I in all innocence essay 

To teach, as though he would have learned of me, 



Idylls a?id Epigrams. 

The sources of sweet-flowing melody : — 
Pan's pipe and Pallas' flute, how Hermes bade 
The tortoise sing, and how Apollo made 
The cittern. But, not heeding mine a whit, 
He sang himself a song, and taught me it. 
How Venus reigns, and all in heaven above 
And land and sea is subject unto Love. 
And I forgot all I to Love did tell, 
But all he taught me I remember well 



IX 

Alone of all, the Muses do not fear 

Eros, but love, and joy to have him near ; 

And him, who sings by Eros unsubdued, 

They shun, and hence his strain is wild and rude ; 

But he who sings as Eros doth persuade, 

The Muses' minstrel also shall be made. 

Witness myself, for when I seek to sing 

Of any mortal or immortal thing 

Save Love, my song expires in stammering : 

But when of Love, or one beloved by me, 

Spontaneous streams the might of melody. 



x 

A VINTAGE 

Singing elate we rhythmically trod 
The heaped-up purples of the vineyard's God ; 
Forth issues the red tide, and surging floats 
Our bowls, transformed to Bacchus' mimic boats 



Idylls and Epigrams. 

And merrily we quaff the grape-juice thence, 
Nor needs its unfermented innocence 
The Naiad's aid. But thou, more fair than her 
Bent o'er the vat, thy blushing mirrorer, 
With potency its sweetness didst inspire, 
Mingling the Bacchic foam with Venus' lire. 
Ah ! Bacchus to our vows gave ample scope, 
But Venus mocked us with an airy hope. 



XI 

Vine that, not tarrying till the storm bereaves, 
Strew'st on autumnal air thy glorious leaves. 
Reserve them for her couch whom I await ; 
Bacchus was ever Venus' willing mate. 



XII 

Warble no more thy mellow melody, 

Sweet Blackbird, from that knotty oaken tree, 

But where the clambering vine her tendril weaves, 

Come winging to the hospitable eaves, 

And chant uncaged, for that, thy race's foe, 

Fosters the birdlime-bearing mistletoe ; 

But this the purple grape, so duly thine, 

For Minstrelsy should ne'er be scant of Wine. 



Idylls mid Epigrams. 



XIII 

Both thou and I alike, my Bacchic urn, 

From clay are sprung, and must to clay return ; 

But happier fate this day is mine and thine, 

For I am full of life, and thou of wine ; 

Our powers for mutual aid united be, 

Keep thou me blithe, and flowing I'll keep thee. 



XIV 

A WINE-JAR FILLED WITH FLOUR 

Me whom the prudent potter did design 

Receptacle for Adriatic wine, 

Who filled with flour? What could the motive be 

Teetotalism or economy? 

Two Gods hast thou outraged, thou impious fellow 

Bacchus is dry, and sober Ceres mellow. 



xv 

What churl, by evil chance or fell design, 
Plucked this unmellowed cluster from the vine. 
And flung it reckless on the road to lie 
Half-eaten, trampled of each passer-by? 
Lycurgus' doom, avenging Bacchus, be 
His, who slew gladness in its infancy, 
Crushing what, spared for some auspicious day 
Had Song inspired, or Sorrow chased away. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 



XVI 

A FIG-TREE 

Democritus fig-loving shouldst thou see, 
Bear him this message, traveller, from me : 
The luscious fruit, maturely beautiful, 
Weighs upon me, and waits for him to cull ; 
But fence is none; so, if he wish to taste, 
Tis fit that thou and he should both make haste. 



XVII 

A DEAD PLANE OVERGROWN BY 
A VINE 

She whose weak growth I did erewhile sustain, 
Makes a rich vine of me a withered plane. 
Wrapped in her mantling leaves profusely strown, 
I scarce perceive that I have lost my own. 
From her, O youth, whom early love endears, 
Expect the solace of declining years. 

XVIII 

Thou that canst summon sleep and care dispel, 
Cricket, shrill Muse of regions arable, 
Lyre-bodied lyrist, some glad carol give, 
Smiting with feet thy pinions talkative ; 
That for a while this breast may empty be 
Of Care and Love, decoyed away by thee ; 
And leek for thy repast I will provide, 
And sphery dewdrops for thy cup divide. 



Idylls and Epigrams, 



i 



XIX 

Not solely from the summer's sultry heat 
Seek I in shady glades a cool retreat, 
And sip up dew, and utter from the pine 
Music unbought, the traveller's joy and mine ; 
But on the shining point of Pallas' spear 
I perch a warlike grasshopper ; for dear 
As I to Muses, is to me the maid 
Whose skill inventive first the flute essaved. 



XX 

Here brazen beaks, the galley's harness, lie, 
Trophies of Actium's famed victory, 
But bees have built within the hollow arms, 
With honey filled, and blithe with buzzing swarms ; 
Emblem of Caesar's sway, that, calm and wise, 
Culls fruits of peace from arms of enemies. 



XXI 

Close, Jove, the gates of the Olympian shrine, 
Guard the aerial citadel divine ; 
Earth and the Sea to Rome's dominion bow, 
And heaven alone is wanting to her now. 



i o Idylls and Epigrams. 



XXII 

'Twixt good and ill my wavering fortune see 

Swayed in capricious instability, 

Most like the Moon, whose ceaseless wax and 

wane 
Cannot two nights the self-same form retain : 
Viewless at first, then a dim streak revealed, 
Then slow augmenting to an argent shield ; 
And when at length to fair perfection brought, 
Diminishing and dwindling quite to nought. 



XXIII 

I, rapt in scrutiny as Night unbars 
The thick and mazy glories of the stars, 
Though earth on Earth, no more am linked to her, 
But sit in Jove's own hall a banqueter. 



XXIV 

Feasting I watch with westward-looking eye 

The flashing constellations' pageantry, 

Solemn and splendid ; then anon I wreathe 

My hair, and warbling to my harp I breathe 

My full heart forth, and know the heavens look 

down 
Pleased, for they also have their Lyre and Crown. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 1 1 



XXV 



Thou eyest the stars, my Star ? That mine might 

be 
Yon host of starry eyes to bend on thee ! 



XXVI 



Fair herald of the morning's track, 
Come, Phosphor, with the ray 

Of Hesper soon, to lead her back 
Whom now thou lead'st away. 



XXVII 

A various wreath these hands have woven for thee ; 

Dark violet and moist anemone, 

Pliant narcissus, bloom of rosy bowers, 

And lily, Rhodoclea. May the flowers 

Thy lofty pride to lowlier thoughts persuade ; 

Like thee they bloom, and thou like them must fade. 



XXVIII 

Thee, happy rose, I freely send 

To deck the tresses of my friend ; 

When white they are, wreathed may they be 

As now, but not too soon, by thee. 

Go, dainty rose, by Venus blest 

If thou my prayer rememberest, 



1 2 Idylls and Epigrams. 



XXIX 



I send thee myrrh, not that thou mayest be 
By it perfumed, but it perfumed by thee. 



XXX 

Why, bee, thy flowers forsaking, dost thou rove 
And light upon the bosom of my love ? 
Wouldst, honey-hoarding sting-bearer, express 
That plenteous sweets, and much of bitterness 
That bosom stores ? If such thine errand, flee 
Back to thy hive, too long 'tis known to me. 



XXXI 

Bee, whom all flowers make welcome to their sweet, 

Why an adventurer here, with clinging feet 

And busy trunk soliciting the lip 

That I alone am privileged to sip ? 

Hence to thy hive, or stung thyself mayest be, 

For Love has planted his own sting in me. 



XXXII 

Fly swiftly, Gnat, and find Zenophile, 
And breathe into her ear this word from me, 
;£ Sleepless thy lover waits, and thou canst lie 
Asleep ? " Fly swiftly, mimic minstrel, fly : 



Idylls and Epigrams. 1 3 

But see that none of slumber thou bereave 
Save her. This labour if thou dost achieve, 
A lion's hide thy body shall adorn, 
And in thy talons shall a club be borne. 



XXXIII 

Deeply this seal is graven to declare 

Love drawn by lions, a submissive pair. 

The lash falls lightly on their necks, their pace 

The curb controls, strength gives itself to grace. 

When lions tamed to Cupid's yoke I see, 

I quake to think what he can do with me. 



XXXIV 

CUPID A FUGITIVE 

Fair Venus seeks her son with anxious eyes. 
Who close concealed within my bosom lies. 
What can I do, who with like reverence own 
The empire of the mother and the son ? 
If he remains, my breast no peace will know ; 
If I betray him, he becomes my foe. 
Then, Cupid, stay, but ah ! be not unkind, 
For ne'er wilt thou a safer shelter find. 



14 Idylls and Epigrams. 

XXXV 

CUPID ASLEEP 

Thou who from sleep debarr'st each mortal eye, 

Pernicious child, thyself asleep dost lie ; 

No torch thou brandishest, no shaft doth go 

Sped with sure aim from thine elastic bow. 

Others take courage, I must fearful be 

Lest sleeping, Cupid, thou dost dream of me. 

xxxvi 

Friends, when I breathe no more (and 'tis well 

known 
That I am principally skin and bone) 
See that my urn this epitaph presents, 
" Cupid to Pluto, with his compliments." 

XXXVII 

"Why sad?" "I am in love." "With whom?" 

"A maid." 
" Lovely, I trust." " So I myself persuade." 
" Where met ye ?" " Feasting, 'neath a gay alcove 
I saw her sit, and felt that I must love." 
" How wooest thou ? " " I scorn not any shifts, 
But most confide in flatteries and in gifts." 



Idylls and Epigrams. 1 5 

" Thy suit is honourable ?" " No." " A wife 
Thou'lt make the fair at last ?" " Not for my life. 
She has not got one single groat to tell. 57 
" Thou dost not love who reasonest so well." 



XXXVIII 

Philaenion's figure's naught, but crisp her brown 
Hair as the parsley ; and her cheek is down ; 
Music her voice ; all grants she, nought demands ; 
Wherefore, great Venus, firm my purpose stands 
To love her ever ; or until I find 
Another even more unto my mind. 



xxxxix 

Call it not love when the delighted eye 

Is lured by charms into captivity ; 

But when wild fires for weak attractions waste : 

To pine for beauty is not love but taste. 



XL 

Swart is thy face and unrefined thy air ; 
But love, Bitinna, and thou wilt be fair ; 
As, touched by fire, the gloomy charcoal glows 
With flush intense, more brilliant than the rose, 



1 6 Idylls and Epigrams. 



XLI 



Simplicity is best, 'tis true, 

But not in every mortal's power : 

If thou, O maid, canst live on dew, 
'Tis proof thou art indeed a flower. 



XLII 

Wealth-carrying ships, the Hellespont that sail 
i^Egaean-ward with favourable gale, 
If, passing Co's fair isolation, ye 
Perceive my Phanion looking to the sea, 
Say that, not winged by sails, or sped by oars, 
But passion-urged, wayfaring by the shores, 
I come her pilgrim. This report, and wend 
Blown by swift winds to your desired end. 



XLIII 

Shall I, who love not wine, essay the bowl ? 
Taste it but thou, and I will drain the whole, 
And call it not enough ; for if thou taste, 
I cannot welcome with too thirsty haste 
The blushing cup where still thy kisses live, 
Giving to me what thou to it didst give. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 



XLIV 

My fair barbarian speaks no Greek, of course, 
Nor knows divinest Sappho from a horse ; 
Yet all the charms that Grecian bards extol 
Are hers, save those pertaining to the soul. 
What then in this dilemma shall I do, 
Who have not, certes, Greek enough for two ? 
Pll tolerate the fault I can't remove, 
And deem that Beauty is the Greek of Love. 



~^XLV 

Thine eyes are dull, as though released they were 

But late by Sleep, the mild imprisoner : 

Thy cheeks their hue, their comeliness thy tost 

Tresses, thy limbs their buoyancy have lost : 

The languors or the longings thou dost prove 

Of satisfied or of expectant Love. 

If those depress, a happy man was he ; 

If these enkindle, happy will he be. 



XLVI 

Did my Ereutho love me ? This to find 
Desiring, I a happy wile designed. 
A traveller, I said, beyond the sea 
I go, but wilt thou sometimes think of me ? 
She started, trembled, wept, began to tear 
Her cheek, the grape-like knotting of her hair 

c 



1 8 Idylls and Epigrams. 

Unbound, and cried, O stay ! Then I, as bent 
By prayers, affected a constrained assent. 
Was I not blest, who, what I most did crave, 
Myself as a surpassing favour gave ? 



XLVII 

A witching smile my Eumenis endears. 

But mightier is the magic of her tears. 

But yesterday, from some unthought-of cloud, 

Came sudden gusts of sobs, her head was bowed 

Low on my neck, and from her eyes' eclipse 

Tears mingled with the meeting of our lips. 

Why dost thou weep? Lest thou shouldst leave 

me, dear. 
It was a lie, but one I loved to hear. 



XLVIII 

Heaven only knows, false fair, which of us both 
More frequent mocks it with a fragile oath; 
Thou swearing thou wilt never more deceive, 
Or I that I will never more believe. 



XLIX 

With awe, great Jove, I recognise 
Resemblance in our destinies ; 
For Love, that all things can seduce, 
Made thee a swan, and me a goose. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 19 



I pray thee, Moon, whose venerable eye 
Beholds all secrets both of earth and sky, 
If, at this hour nocturnal, one be prest 
To that most fair and false deceiver's breast, 
Endymion's sleep be his, nor do thou, Moon, 
Awake him as thou didst Endymion. 



LI 

The light I thrice have lit with amorous pains, 
So late she lingers, to the socket wanes ; 
Another night to fruitless watch is given, 
Another perjury has scoffed at Heaven. 
Expiring flame, how happy would it be 
Could my fond passion disappear with thee ! 



Lll 

O Love that flew so lightly to my heart, 
Why are thy wings so feeble to depart ? 



LIII 

Great goose the painter was, upon my word, 
Who Cupid first portrayed with wings. A bird 
He knew perchance to paint, but 'tis great odds 
His skill forsook him when he sketched the Gods. 

C 2 



20 Idylls and Epigrams. 

Not light is Love, but far the heaviest ill, 
Nor doth he fly at all, or ever will 
Depart when entertained, but firmly clings. 
How can a creature of this sort have wines ? 



LIV 

CUPID IN LOVE 

Why weep'st thou, Eros, heart-seducer, say ? 
Why are thy bow and arrows cast away ? 
Why droop thy wings thus rueful ? Ha ! I see, 
Doris has made a prisoner of thee ; 
And now instructs thee by thy proper smart 
How very mischievous a thing thou art. 



LV 

Eros, I pray thee to remove 
Or else divide my pain ; 

Either forbid me more to love, 
Or make me loved again. 



LVI 

Love, if thou bear'st a torch too tame 
Both me and Medo to inflame, 
The fire that in this bosom glows 
Either extinguish or transpose. 






Idylls and Epigrams, 2 r 



LVII 



'Tis highly rational, we can't dispute, 

That Love, being naked, should promote a suit : 

But doth not oddity to him attach, 

Whose fire's so oft extinguished by a match ? 



LVIII 

Why made ye, Gods, proud Rhodope so fair, 
Who greets my salutation with a stare ? 
By whom the wreath I wove for her is torn 
Down from her doors, and trampled on with scorn, 
But hasten, wrinkles and grey hairs, for ye 
Better than I can plead with Rhodope. 



LIX 

Be not too timorous, youth, nor strive to merit 
Thy mistress' favour by a broken spirit ; 
Lift up thine eyes, boldly thy fair survey ; 
Yea, turn them, now and then, the other way : 
For woman, though with glee abashing pride, 
Delights not less the abject to deride ; 
And best may he subdue her to his bent 
Who is both humble and impertinent. 



22 Idylls and Epigrams. 



LX 

The hunter, Epicydes, will not spare 
To follow on the trace of fawn and hare 
Through snow and frost, so long as still they fly ; 
But if one say, " ? Tis hit," he passes by. 
Even so my love, winged for no willing prize, 
Follows what flees, and flees what fallen lies. 



LXI 

THE SEA-VENUS 

Not vast this shrine, where by wet sand I sit 

Ruling the sea that surges up to it ; 

But dear, for much I love submissive sea, 

And much the mariner preserved by me : 

Entreat her then, whose smile thy speed can prove 

On the wild waves of Ocean and of Love. 



LXI I 

TO VENUS ON A VOYAGE 

That the tamed sea a tranquil path may prove 
To pleasant safety in the arms of Love, 
I pour the prayer I doubly owe to thee. 
Mother of Love, and daughter of the sea. 



Idylls a?id Epigrams. 23 



LXIII 

THE DRESDEN VENUS ES 

Thou, Goddess, lulled by Titian to repose, 
Art like the deep whence erst thy form arose 
When wave on wave in slumbering stillness lies, 
And one smooth surface glasses the great skies. 
But thou by Palma limned art like the free 
And blithe awaking of the early sea 
When myriad sunbeams strike the unshielded main, 
And myriad dimplings laugh them back again. 
This with allurement, that with awe delights ; 
As sweetly this forbids as that invites ; 
Had these contended on the Idaean hill, 
The Dardan's prize had been disputed still. 



LXIV 

THE VENUS OE CNIDOS, BY 
PRAXITELES 

Juno and Pallas here surveyed 
The form Praxiteles had made, 
And thereupon, although 'twas hard, 
Confirmed the Phrygian's award. 



24 Idylls and Epigrams. 

LXV 

ON THE SAME 

To Paris, at the dread command of Jove, 
To Adon, at the soft behest of Love, 
Fair Venus gave her limbs disrobed to see ; 
But at whose voice, Praxiteles, to thee ? 



LXVI 

THE N/O BE OF PRAXITELES 

Gods made me stone, a living woman first 
Praxiteles the miracle reversed. 



LXVII 

Satyr, whose listening ear so low is bent, 

Breathes with spontaneous strain thine instrument ? 

Smiling and silent thou remainest bound 

In silvery fetters of delightful sound ; 

For sure that lifelike figure here doth dwell, 

Fixed not by Painting's, but by Music's spell. 



LXVI 1 1 

Behold the strangest thing that ever was ; 
A speaking likeness of Pythagoras. 



Idylls and Epigrams. z 5 



LXix 

ON A GEM ENGRA VED WITH A HERD 
OF CA TTLE 

Can mortal skill, unaided, serve to place 
A herd so numerous in such narrow space ? 
Can mortal be the kine I here behold 
Grazing on gems within a fence of gold ? 



LXX 

ON THE SAME 

Fear not, thy kine will not forsake thy gem ; 
But bless the setting that prohibits them, 



LXXI 

A CUPID CARVED ON A SHELL 

Justly he wrought whose craft has carved so well 
Young Cupid couched in me, an ocean shell; 
For, Venus, hadst thou ne'er from ocean strayed. 
Thy infant's pearly cradle I had made. 
Praise then to him who came where, mantling 

me, 
Streamed the long weedy tresses of the sea, 
The rift explored, the path to earth retrod, 
And paid me for an oyster with a God. 



26 Idylls and Epigrams, 



LXXII 

A BATH 

To lave their limbs the Graces three 
Erst in Arcadia fashioned me, 
Therefore I have but room for three. 
For that which Grace her own doth call. 
Cannot too great be or too small. 



LXXIII 

TO A SWALLOW BUILDING ON A 
STA TUE OF MEDEA 

Build not, fond swallow, on that breast of stone ; 
Will she preserve thy brood who slew her own ? 



LXXIV 

THE OFFERING OF LAIS 

Venus, from Lais, once as fair as thou, 
Receive this mirror, useless to me now ; 
For what despoiling Time hath made of me 
I will not, what he marred I cannot, see. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 27 



LXXV 

THE OFFERING TO LAIS 

These withered rendings of brow-wreathing rose ; 
These shattered cups, where no more foams and 

flows 
Wine's strength ; this tress of myrrh-anointed 

hair ; 
Lais, from Anaxagoras' despair 
Take, laid in dust ±>efore thee, emblems fit 
Of his desire, and what he had from it. 
For, at thy gate with friends much revelling, 
No word, no look, no promise could he wring 
From thee, and with a curse doth now depart, 
Leaving these spoils of broken health and heart. 



LXXVI 

A ninefold scroll of amorous poesy, 

Agathias, Venus, consecrates to thee. 

The Muses blest, but Love inspired his strains, 

Therefore do thou accept them. For his pains 

He prays that unto him it may befall 

Or to love happily, or not at all. 



28 Idylls and Epigrams, 



LXXVII 



Ye gave me, Muses, skill to touch the string, 
But Venus solely doth your servant sing ; 
Shall then this lyre my piety confers 
Be dedicated at your shrine, or hers ? 



THE ANSWER 

Minstrel, on Melite bestow thy boon ; 
For she is Venus and the Muse in one. 



LXXVIII 

My wreath, my hair 9 my girdle gratefully 
To Venus, Pallas, Dian offered be, 
By whose concurring favour I enjoy 
My wedded bliss, my chastity, my boy. 



LXXIX 

I, Nautilus, of late the Zephyr's shell, 
Come, Venus, in thy treasury to dwell, 
Selene's gift, the first her youth has made. 
No more shall I, my living canvas spread, 
Skim the rough sea before the impelling gale, 
Or oar it with my feet, when calms prevail ; 



Idylls and Epigrams, 29 

No more my pearly home shall be possest 
By thee, intruding Halcyon, for a nest ; 
For, to Iulis ? strand by billows borne, 
Thy shrine, Arsinoe, henceforth I adorn ; 
But Clinias' daughter prosper thou, for she 7 
Skilful in Smyrna's art, hath polished me. 



LXXX 

Venus, at Rhodo's prayer this stick, and these 
Sandals, the spoil of sage Posochares ; 
This dirty leather flask, this wallet torn, 
Suffer thy sanctuary to adorn : 
Trophies not rich but glorious, for they prove 
Philosophy's subjection unto Love. 



LXXXI 

Nicarete, whom all men did conceive 
Vowed to Minerva's tasks, to spin and weave. 
With wheel and wool to Venus' altar came, 
And made a happy bonfire of the same ; 
And, i( Perish," cried, " ungenial toils, which slay 
Beauty, and hunger cannot keep away ;" 
And garlanded her hair, and luting went 
From house to house with joyous instrument, 
Praying, " Dear Venus, prosper thou my pains, 
And thou shalt be a partner of my gains," 



3© Idylls and Epigrams. 



LXXXII 

1 5 an enamoured doctor, fain would give, 
Venus, to thee a generous donative 
That fair Callistrata thou might'st incline 
To cease from maiden coyness, and be mine; 
But sickness hath not much prevailed of late. 
And I perceive with grief my purse's weight 
Sorts with my liberal intent but ill : 
Wherefore I pray that thou wouldst take a pill. 



LXXXIII 

Venus, receive my scarf ; nor think it scorn 
To wear what Myrto frequently hath worn. 
My liberal piety thou well dost know, 
And wottest I would willingly bestow 
The newest and most costly robe I claim, 
Would Clearista only do the same. 
Chastise her then, great Goddess, as is meet. 
For me and mine thy favour I entreat ; 
And take my gift, and may all good befall ; 
'Tis not so very shabby after all. 
And now I look at it, the truth to speak, 
I think I'll wear it yet another week. 



LXXXIV 

I, Bacchanal Eurynome, to roam 

The mountain wont, and bulls to overcome. 

Who rent the lion, and with wild delight 

Tossed the fierce head that could no more affright. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 3 1 

Now to thee, Bacchus, (pardon !) all on fire 
With Venus, and forsaking thy desire, 
Suspend my clubs, and ivy-wreaths that graced 
My wrists resign, with gold to be replaced. 



LXXXV 

I Achrylis the priestess, wont to be 
First in the frantic rites of Cybele, 
Showering my tress where many a piny torch 
Blazed on the yelling train, here at the porch 
Of her rude mountain- shrine my hair suspend, 
For here exhausted frenzy found an end. 



LXXXVI 

Most ancient Saturn, Deity sublime 

Of endless and inexorable Time, 

1 tempt thee not with gifts to be my friend, 

For nought can thee appease, or aught offend 

Nor needs it any sacrifice to bring 

To thee, who of thyself tak'st everything. 



LXXXVI I 

Eudoxus hath his hair an offering made ; 
With laurel, Phcebus, be his brows repaid. 



3 2 Idylls and Epigrams* 



LXXXVIII 



His nets and snares the fowler Meidon gives, 
And birdlimed rods, the tools by which he lives ; 
The humble gift more liberal wouldst thou see ; 
Send him, great Phoebus, more prosperity. 



LXXXIX 



Aceson, ^sculapius, has paid 
The vow which for Demodoce he made; 
Shouldst thou, oblivious, claim a second fee, 
This tablet will refresh thy memory. 



XC 

AN ALTAR JOINTLY CONSECRATED TO 
MERCURY AND HERCULES 

Ye who along this rural path proceed, 
If from the country to the town ye speed, 
Or vice versa, to my speech attend. 
I, Hermes, and he, Hercules, befriend 
Your road. That this with offerings ye requite 
Is wholly reasonable, meet, and right. 
Would with each other we as well agreed ! 
But he, I blush to state, doth so exceed, 
And gormandizes in such monstrous sort, 
That I, a modest deity, come short. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 

He hath his way entirely ; how can I 

The conqueror of Cerberus defy ? 

I pray ye then that ye would not be loth 

Yourselves to part your gifts between us both : 

Alcmena's son prohibiting from carving, 

And Maia's child delivering from starving. 



jj 



XCI 

Hermes, on this Tallcean mount enshrined, 
Take Menas' offering with propitious mind ; 
And all that prosperous is to him decree 
Who of his well-earned wealth imparts to thee. 
Ere yet of his loved wife bereft, with her 
Hither he came, an annual worshipper ; 
Now she is dust, and sorrow for her sake 
Did him remiss, and thee neglected make. 
But lessoned now, he, mindful of thy dues, 
The omitted rite with twofold gifts renews . 
Thou in thy turn with happiness and health 
Reward, since Menas' weal is Hermes' wealth. 



XCII 

Poseidon, and all Ocean-deities, 
Lucilius, 'scaped from shipwreck on the seas, 
Doth dedicate to ye who bade him live 
His hair, for nothing else is left to give. 

D 



34 Idylls ana Efiigra7ns. 



XCIII 

I, trident- wielding curber of the sea, 

Desire, Icthybius, a word with thee. 

Deem'st thou accepted offerings to make 

Of spiny thornback and insipid hake, 

Who turbots draw'st and mullets from the brine, 

As grateful to my palate as to thine ? 

Dost thou imagine Neptune cannot tell 

What fishes are and are not eatable ? 

If thou defraud'st my table for thine own, 

Thou art a rogue whom it were meet to drown, 

if thou conceiv'st my throat is made of brass. 

Thou dost therein approve thyself an ass. 



XCIV 

Priapus, whom the fisherman's belief 
Holds patron of the rock and ragged reef, 
This crab, which in his wicker lost its way, 
Paris devotes to thee — that is to say, 
The shell — for all the rest he did presume 
In his own hungry entrails to entomb. 
If thou desirest to partake his dish 
Henceforward, let him henceforth catch more 
fish. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 35 



xcv 

To Hermes, guardian of each gainful trade, 
This offering from the fisher's stores be made : 
My net, that hath so many a fish undone ; 
Reed, hair, and hook, three stratagems in one ; 
The lead that weights, the cork that buoys the line. 
The wicker-woven basket-trap : in fine 
All wiles I used the unwary fish to hem, 
And all the colds I caught in catching them. 



XCVI 

His pastoral crook, of old his stay and pride, 

Daphnis, the minstrel-shepherd, lays aside : 

On rural Pan the offering he bestows, 

Token of age's frailty and repose. 

Still can I pipe, still with clear voice proclaim 

All is not faint in this decrepid frame : 

Yet to the wolves, that haunt the mountain-side, 

Say not why Daphnis lays his crook aside. 



xcvn 

Bee-keeping Cleiton seeks, great Pan, thy dome, 

Fraught with a mass of golden honeycomb, 

From flowery meads, where erst its sweets were bred. 

Browsed by the airy flock unshepherded. 

Be the brisk swarms innumerable made, 

And all their store ambrosia, by thy aid ! 

D 2 



36 Idylls and Epigrams. 



XCVIII 

Naiads, your frog, hoarse minstrel of a strain 

Aquatic, leaping lover of the rain, 

Imaged in brass, I dedicate, well-pleased, 

To ye, in gratitude for thirst appeased. 

Faint was I wandering, when the welcome croak 

Loud from a nigh sequestered hollow broke, 

And, following the inviting voice, I found 

The twinkling spring clear- welling from the ground. 



XCIX 

Shaker of earth and sovereign of the sea, 
I, Crantas, dedicate my bark to thee ; 
Which oft I deemed in my affrighted mind 
Would bear me, winged with storm and wandering 

wind, 
To Hades, but instead hath brought me here, 
Where now I dwell, forgetting hope and fear. 



The crooked bow and arrow-spending case 
Promachus hangs up in this holy place, 
Phoebus, to thee. The shafts remain apart, 
For each is buried in a foeman's heart. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 37 



CI 



Avert the share, restrain the steer, 
O husbandman that ploughest here ; 
The ground where warriors rest 'tis meet 
To sow with tears instead of wheat. 



Cll 

A MARBLE LION, CARVED ON LEON'S 
TOMB 

Among all living things the palm I claim 
Of courage. If my nature and my name 
Had not been his upon whose tomb I sit, 
Thou hadst not seen me, stranger, guarding it. 



CHI 

A FAMILY TOMB 

Me for his household reared Androtion : 
As yet I am the sepulchre of none. 
Long be it so ! but when I must be sought, 
May all in order of their age be brought. 



38 Idylls and Epigrams. 



civ 

Learn from me, traveller who passest here, 
This tomb holds nothing that deserves thy tear; 
One wife I had, with her attained to eld, 
Three children gave in marriage, oft have held 
Their children on my knees, till lulled they slept 
Nor death of any, nor disease have wept ; 
But all the last due rites have fondly paid, 
And to its rest dismissed my tranquil shade. 



cv 

Kind Earth, accord within thy peaceful breast 
Amyntichus, thy benefactor, rest : 
The good old man, who bade the olive crown ? 
And vine empurple thee, and corn embrown ; 
And, channelling the conduit, gave thee thence 
Of herbs and fruits delicious affluence. 
Light lie upon him, and his grave who made 
Thee verdant, with thy verdure be repaid. 



CVI 

I who have laid me here among the dead 
Am Aretemias, to Euphron wed ; 



As lovely twins were taken from my side, 
I, by the Fates' allotment, sank and died, 
One leaving, to console my husband's grief ? 
One bringing hither^ for my own relief, 



Idylls and Epigrams. 39 



CVII 

My funeral-shaft, and marble shapes that dwell 
Beside it, and sad urn, receptacle 
Of all I am, salute who seek my tomb, 
If from my own, or other cities come ; 
And say to them, a bride I hither came, 
Tenos my country, Baucis was my name. 
Say also, this inscription for her friend 
Erinna, handmaid of the Muses, penned. 



pvill 

For Crethis' store of tales and pleasant chat 
Oft sigh the Samian maidens, missing that 
Which cheered their tasks, but she, beyond their 

call, 
Sleeps here the sleep that must be slept by all 



cix 

I, whom the simple tombstone covers thus, 

At five years died, the child Callimachus ; 

And hence, by Heaven's benign appointment, know 

Few of man's days, and little of his woe. 



40 Idylls and Epigrams. 



ex 

Charon, whose bark, in Stygian reeds bestowed, 
Bides the assembling of its ghostly load, 
Stretch forth thine hand, and yield a kindly aid 
To Cinyras's child, a helpless shade : 
For loose his sandals, and he fears to stand 
Barefooted on the margin's clammy sand. 



CXI 

ON ONE WHO DIED IN A TOMB 

Worn with old age and penury, nor thence 
Rescued by any man's beneficence, 
Into this tomb with tottering steps I past, 
And hardly here found leave to rest at last, 
Usage for most doth after death provide 
Interment, I was buried ere I died. 



CXII 

Sodamus perished in mid sea, who was 
Chief among Cretan fishers ; but alas ! 
At times the sea is mad, and doth not then 
Nicely discriminate 7 twixt fishermen. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 4 1 



CXIII 



Tumultuous sea, whose wrath and foam are spent 
So nigh to Eumares' worn monument ; 
Spare if thou wilt and shatter if thou must, 
For nothing shalt thou find but bones and dust 



cxiv 

Was life on land not short enough for thee, 

But, Cleonicus, thou must tempt the sea ? 

To Thasos, bringing wealth of Syrian wares, 

Sailing thou earnest with the wintry stars ; 

And when the Pleiads merged their sevenfold gem. 

Thou sankest to the grey abyss with them. 



cxv 

O happy swain, I would that unto me 

Who roamed rude Ocean, the felicity 

Of shepherd's crook and carol had been known 

Ere yet I came a corpse by Eurus blown 

To these delightful shores, where thou, most blest, 

Thy snowy flock serenely pasturest. 



CXVI 

Not to earth solely is my corpse confined, 
Nor yet entirely to the sea resigned : 
Fishes devoured my flesh, my bones are flung 
Blanching to lie these dreary rocks among. 



42 Idylls and Epigrams. 



CXVII 

Me whom to land the pitying billow bore, 
It stripped not of the humble dress I wore ; 
But he who found me dead did not disdain 
Such great pollution for such little gain. 
May the filched garment cleave unto his shade, 
And Minos see him in my spoils arrayed ! 



CXVII I 

If from compassion thou hadst buried me, 
The Gods had recompensed thy piety : 
But since it was my murdered corpse to hide. 
Like sepulture for thee may they provide. 



CXIX 

My epitaph must make it clear 

An admiral lies buried here : — 

Crispinus, mighty among men, 

And old Ravenna's citizen ; 

Which fact entitles me to hope 

Thou wilt not rashly interlope, 

And less illustrious dust bestow 

In this my tomb ; for, doing so, 

Thou wouldst extremely vex my mind ; 

And what is more, thou wouldst be fined. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 43 



cxx 

" Charidas here?" " If thou who askest this 

Inquirest for Arimma's son, he is." 

"Where art thou?" "In the dark." "Can any 

pass 
To earth?" "No." "Any Pluto?" "No." "Alas! 
'Tis truth I tell, but wouldst thou lend thine ear 
Rather to fond delusions, we have beer." 



CXXI 

ON A MAN OF FEW WORDS 

Brief was his speech, and brief shall be my son^ 
" Theris ; Aristo's son ; of Crete." Too long. 



CXXII 

ON ARCHILOCHUS, THE SATIRIC POET 

Here sleeps, whose satire could the living goad 
To shun its venom in the shades' abode. 
Stern warder, from Hell's portal ne'er remove, 
Lest that fierce pen should drive the dead above. 



44 Idylls and Epigrams. 



CXXIII 

MELEAGER 

Tyre brought me up, who born in thee had been* 

Assyrian Athens, city Gadarene ; 

My name is Meleager, Eucrates 

My sire, my skill with graceful strains to please ; 

My Syrian lineage do not discommend, 

One world have all, one origin, one end ; 

Stricken in years, I yet can touch the string, 

And this unto the tomb, my neighbour, sing; 

Salute my garrulous old age, and be 

Thine own what now thou honourest in me. 



cxxiv 

ALCMAN 

Had I, my Sardian home, been reared in thee, 

A cymbal-clashing eunuch I should be, 

Or craftsman ; but now far my fame is spread, 

Alcman, of Sparta many-tripoded 

Illustrious burgher, to whom Muses show 

Treasures more rich than Lydian monarchs know 



Idylls and Epigrams. 45 

cxxv 
EPITAPH ON A FOWLER 

Now may the swiftly-winging bird return, 
And sit in peace upon this pleasant plane ; 

Pimander now is ashes in his urn, 
Nor here will lift his limy rods again. 

cxxvi 

ON A PET LEVERET 

Torn from my mother's breast was I while yet 

A feeble, unsuspecting leveret, 

But Phanion's arms soon taught me to forget 

My loss, her nimble, frisky, long-eared pet. 

What lavish fare her fondness did provide ! 

Alas ! it was too lavish, and I died. 

But she inters me here, her couch beside, 

And in her dreams her playmate I abide. 



CXXVII 

TO A CAT WHICH HAD KILLED A 
FA VOURITE BIRD 

O cat in semblance, but in heart akin 
To canine raveners, whose ways are sin ; 
Still at my hearth a guest thou dar'st to be ? 
Unwhipt of Justice, hast no dread of me? 



4-6 Idylls and Epigrams, 

Or deem'st the sly allurements shall avail 
Of purring throat and undulating tail ? 
No! as to pacify Patroclus dead 
Twelve Trojans by P elides' sentence bled, 
So shall thy blood appease the feathery shade., 
And for one guiltless life shall nine be paid. 



CXXVIII 

His fellow-boxers to their friend 
Apis, for eminent desert : 

For oft he did with them contend^ 
And never any of them hurt. 



CXXIX 

Priapus, by devout Actemon placed 
Protector of his garden's weedy waste^ 
Warns all disposed to search its bounds for pelf 
That there is nought to steal, except himself. 



cxxx 

ON A COURTESAN NAMED EUROPA 

Just at a drachm prescription rates the charms 
Of kind Europa's widely-open arms. 
Rivals are none; a couch she will provide 
Gratis ; and, if 'tis cold, a fire beside. 
Jove, when her sweets so easy 'twas to cull, 
Thou wert an ass to make thyself a bull. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 47 



CXXXI 

ON A MERCENARY BEAUTY 

Golden the hive, and yet 'tis true 
Bees wrought it not from gold, but dew 
Dewy thy kiss, and yet 'tis told, 
Its birth is not from dew, but gold. 



CXXXII 

They say that thou dost tinge (O monstrous lie !) 
The hair that thou-so raven-black didst buy. 



CXXXIII 

She buys her hair, and from that fact alone 
'Tis evident that it must be her own. 



CXXXIV 

ON AN INANIMATE ACTRESS 

Thou hast a score of parts not good, 

But two divinely shown : 
Thy Daphne a true piece of wood, 

Thy Niobe a stone. 



48 Idylls and Epigrams. 



cxxxv 

Menodotis's portrait here is kept : 

Most odd it is 
How very like to all the world, except 

Menodotis. 



cxxxvi 

THE TRA VELLER AND HIS GORILLA 

The gift by Nature boon supplied 
This pair unequally divide : 
The traveller's tale is far from small, 
The monkey has no tail at all. 



CXXXVII 

Erixenus with me wars to the knife, 
And never will forgive me in his life : 
And yet the man is kind, I know full well, 
Not sour, malicious, or implacable : 
And, had I injured him, I do believe, 
He had not been reluctant to forgive : 
But Fate perverse so orders it, you see, 
That 'tis Erixenus has injured me. 



! 



Idylls and Epigrams. 49 

CXXXVIII 

"PLAIN LIVING AND HIGH THINKINGS 

Stern Cynicus doth war austerely wage 
With endive, lentils, chicory and sage ; 
Which shouldst thou thoughtless proffer, "Wretch," 

saith he, 
" Wouldst thou corrupt my life's simplicity 
Yet is not his simplicity so great 
But that he can digest a pomegranate ; 
And peaches, he esteems, right well agree 
With Spartan fare and sound philosophy. 



CXXXIX 



By dealings hateful to an honest man, 
Poor Rufus swells to rich Ruhnian : 
Which sounding style might well expanded be, 
Nor yet proportioned to his roguery. 



CXL 

Fortune advanced thee that all might aver 
That nothing is impossible to her. 
E 



So Idylls and Epigrams. 



CXLI 

Our master, Meleager, he who framed 

The first Anthology and daintiest, 
Mated each minstrel with a flower, and named 

For each the blossom that beseemed him best. 
'Twas then as now ; garlands were somewhat rare, 

Candidates many : one in doleful strain 
Lamented thus, " This is a sad affair, 

How shall I face my publisher again ? 
Lacking some emblem suitable for me, 

My book's undone ; I shall not sell a copy. ?> 
" Take courage, son," quoth Phoebus, "there must be 

Somewhere or other certainly a poppy." 



CXLII 

A CASE OF CONSCIENCE 

My friend and I did faithfully agree, 
He to extol all I wrote, I all he : 
Now he has writ a satire against me. 
Resolve me, Phoebus, what am I to do ; 
Can I retort, yet to my bond be true ? 
Aye, son, abuse him well, Apollo says, 
Panegyric from thee were sore dispraise. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 5 1 



CXLIII 



Be this poor scribbler, Muse, thy care. 
And grant to him the only prayer 
That at thy shrine he ever said ; 
Give me this day my daily bread. 



CXLIV 

TIME AND THE POET 

P. List my petition, Time, though fellest foe 

Of all that sings and scribbles here below. 

Ere yet my name and fame be wholly gone 

The road returnless of Oblivion : 

Ere yet to moths and grubs my scroll shall give 

Diet insipid and innutritive, 

Or mildewed moulder, or to dust be changed, 

Read me but once, and I shall be avenged. 

T. To Sleep, methinks, thy prayer 'twere best to 

make ; 
And even he is far too wide awake. 



CXLV 

In spite of hints, in spite of looks, 
Titus, I send thee not my books. 
The reason, Titus, canst divine ? 
I fear lest thou shouldst send me thine. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 



CXLVI 

Fired with the thirst of Fame, thus honest Sam, 
** I will arise and write an epigram." 
An epic, Sam, more glorious still would be, 
And much more easily achieved by thee. 



CXLVII 

For a reputed victory, which (alas !) 

In truth but a strategic movement was, 

Rome rilled her roadways with rejoicing flame, 

Roasted whole oxen, and ate up the same. 

But one who did those streets perambulate 

Met Victory's self in sorrowful estate, 

Weeping, with soiled and draggled wing. Then he, 

Expound, fair stranger, thy calamity. 

She, with a sob, And must I not complain, 

Whom that huge rogue Patricius did gain ? 



CXLVI 1 1 

A starry seers oracular abodes 
One sought, to know if he should sail for Rhodes, 
When thus the sage, " I rede thee, let thy ship 
Be new, and choose the summer for thy trip ; 
Safe then thou'lt leave, and safe regain this spot, 
If those confounded pirates catch thee not" 



Idylls an d Ep igra ms. 5 3 



CXLIX 

Eubule, craving Heaven's will to know, 

Would poise a pebble. Wished she to hear no, 

The stone was ponderous past all belief ; 

U yes, 'twas lighter than a withered leaf. 

And, did the divination prove at fault, 

'- Phoebus," she'd say, " thou art not worth thy salt.' 



CL 

Sturdy Tom Paine, biographers relate, 

Once with his friehcts engaged in warm debate. 

Said they, " Minorities are always right ; " 

Said he, " The truth is just the opposite." 

Finding them stubborn, " Frankly now," asked he, 

"In this opinion do ye all agree ; 

All, every one, without exception ? " When 

They thus affirmed unanimously, " Then 

Correct," he said, " my sentiment must be, 

For I myself am the minority." 



CLI 

A patient, sick to death, and very sad, 

A comforter in his physician had. 

'• Your liver's wrong, I grant you, but your hear 

Is sound, and surely that's the nobler part ; 



54 Idylls and Epigrams. 

In your hale lungs no symptom can I see 
Either of phthisis or of pleurisy ; 
Your head is clear, you know what you're about ; 
Your temperance exempts you from the gout ; 
And, were it not for one disorder small 
Which you have got, you need not die at all." 



CLII 

Philoxenus the bard, report assures, 

Was ranked the paragon of epicures. 

One day a huge and special fish he got 

(If dory or if lamprey, fame says not) 

And made one meal of it, except the head ; 

Then, with good cause, betook himself to bed, 

And for the doctor sent. The leech with speed 

Arrived, examined, pondered, and decreed : 

" As near as Hippocratic art can fix, 

You'll die at five, perhaps it may be six. 

Improve the span allotted, say your prayers, 

Send for your friends, and settle your affairs." 

" Thanks, leech," the patient said, " but you must 

know 
My testament was sealed some time ago. 
Bacchus and Venus have I served with heed, 
And with the other Gods have well agreed : 
Phcebus will guard my laurels, if attacked : 
My copyrights are settled by the Act. 
Then, since fell Fate, with her abhorred shears, 
Slits the frail tissue of my mortal years, 



Idylls a?id Epigrams. 5 5 

And Charon calls, that I may die resigned, 
In peace and charity with all mankind, 
And nothing may regret, nor aught may wish ; 
Just send me up the remnant of that fish." 



CLIII 

The nobles of a great Imperial court, 

Aggrieved that mortals of inferior sort 

In rides and drives should on them throng and press, 

Appealed unto the Emperor for redress. 

" Let each ride with his equals," thus they prayed, 

Propounding how this rule might be obeyed, 

By a nice plan, all ready cut and dried. 

" One thing have yeTorgotten to provide," 

The monarch said, " with whom am / to ride ? " 



CLIV 

A miser in his chamber saw a mouse, 

And cried dismayed, " What dost thou in my 

house ? " 
She with a laugh, " Good landlord, have no fear, 
'Tis not for board but lodging I come here." 



CLV 

A MISER COMMENDED 

Great soul ! who nobly thus allots his pelf; 
All to his heir and nothing to himself. 



56 Idylls and Epigrams. 



CLVI 



" I hardly ever ope my lips," one cries ; 

" Simonides, what think you of my rule ? " 
" If you're a fool, I think you're very wise ; 

If you are wise, I think you are a fool." 



CLVI I 

Wouldst thou, my friend, essay the Muse, thou wel 

Thy Martial's strain might'st equal or excel ; 

But, tender to a fault of my renown, 

Thou art, Cyrenius, cruel to thine own. 

So Maro, conscious of his might, forbore 

Flaccus on lyric pinions to outsoar, 

And, for the sake of Varius, seemed to scorn 

The buskin he more worthily had worn. 

Gifts, honour, service, friend from friend may claim. 

But rare his friendship who resigns his fame. 



CLVIII 

Daphne, eluding Phoebus' flame, 
Remained the laurel she became : 
For poets, observation proves, 
Prefer their laurels to their loves. 



Idylls and Efiigrcuns. 5 7 



CLIX 

Honey and milk are sacrifice for thee, 
Kind Hermes, inexpensive deity. 
But Hercules demands a sheep each day 
For holding — as he says — the wolf at bay. 
Imports it much, meek browsers of the sod, 
Whether the beast devour you, or the God ? 



CLX 

The praise of cultured taste accrues to thee. 
Dainty, wealth-quelling, slipshod deity, 
Patrician Gout, who, thinking it great scorn 
Save by the feet of others to be borne, 
And curious in rare scents, and knowing well 
What draughts are exquisitely potable, 
Shunn'st the abodes of poverty and health. 
And knock'st imperious at the gate of wealth. 



CLXI 

Our undertaker with his acid phiz 

A grim, austere, sardonic fellow is, 

And, save for business' sake, was never heard 

By any mortal man to speak a word. 

Yet Bacchus, Venus, and the Graces three, 

Have no such potent advocate as he. 



Idylls and Epigrayns. 



CLXII 

A FROG WROUGHT IN A SILVER CUP 

View in me, exiled from my native bog, 
That rare phenomenon, a silent frog : 
Nor leap I now, but here contented cling, 
The silver tenant of a ruby spring ; 
Bacchus o'er me his potent flood doth pour, 
Yet am I sober as I was before. 
He who embossed me here designed, I think. 
A precept to teetotallers to drink ; 
Showing the cup may well consistent be 
With peace, politeness, and sobriety. 



CLXII I 

Amid all Triads let it be confest 

The Chase, the Feast, the Song compose the best, 

So aptly linked a mutual aid to lend 

To life's enjoyment, their concurrent end. 

The chase provides what doth to feasts belong ; 

The banquet prompts and animates the song; 

The song, resounding with a twofold grace, 

Cheers the repast, and celebrates the chase. 



Idylls and Epigrams. 59 



CLXIV 

To-morrow, dearest Piso, one will come 
To lead thee to a philosophic home. 
Where. Epicurus's disciples, we 
Observe our master's anniversary. 
Song have we, and sincerity of soul, 
But look not, Piso, for the Chian bowl, 
Or sumptuous dishes, or aught exquisite, 
Except thine own urbanity and wit. 



CLXV 

THE ECLECTIC 

Philosopher, whom dost thou most affect. 
Stoics austere, or Epicurus' sect ? 
Friend, 'tis my grave infrangible design 
With those to study, and with these to dine. 



CLXVI 

Thou art in danger, Cincius, on my word, 

To die ere thou hast lived, which were absurd. 

Open thy ears to song, thy throat to wine, 

Thy arms unto that pretty wife of thine. 

Philosophy, I have nowise forgot, 

Is deathless, but philosophers are not. 



60 Idylls and Epigrams. 



CLXVII 

Come, sitting by this tesselated board, 
Essay the joys its clattering dice afford. 
But not elated, or dejected be, 
If high or low the cast vouchsafed to thee. 
By throws the thoughts not seldom we descry, 
And wisdom's depth is fathomed by a die. 



CLXVIII 

A FIELD 

Cleon's I was, to Cleitophon was sold ; 
Another's soon ; soon will another hold 
What each calls his ; but the pure truth to say 
Fortune's I am and I shall be alway. 



CLXIX 

All mortal things from mortals glide, 
And they from all that doth abide. 



CLXX 

Life is a shadow — not the shade 
Of aught that stable may be made- 
But of a bird that wings the skies, 
And with its flight the shadow flies. 



idylls and Epigrams, 61 



CLXXI 

I loved, who not ? I drank, who doth not know 
Wine's joys ? I raved, the Gods would have it so. 
But love and wine adieu, for now my tress 
Whitens with Gaiety's hoar monitress. 
Twas well to sport, and well it is to see 
When gravity befits, and grave to be. 



N OTES. 



NOTES, 



IV. — M. Sainte-Beuve, in his elegant essay on Meleager 
(Poi'traits, tome iii. p. 504), points out the correspondence 
of this description of Spring with the scenery of the 
Tyrian coast, as depicted by Xonnus (lib. xl. 311-336) : 
" Ainsi, le printemps de Meleagre n'etait pas un ideal 
dans lequel, comme dans presque tous nos Avril et nos 
Mai y l'imagination, eveillee pas le renouveau, assemble 
divers traits epars, les-arrange plus oumoins, et les acbeve. 
Ici, dans ce printemps de Phenicie, comme dans ceux 
d'lonie et de Sicile, le spectacle se deroulait au complet 
sous un seul et meme regard, et l'heureux poete ir a fait 
que copier la nature." Meleager was brought up at Tyre, 
vdaos i/ad dpeirreipa, Tvpos (Anth. Palat. vii. 417). 

VIII. — Young was I. Meineke's emendation, icprifico- 
ovn for ed 3 virvdoovn. 

XIII. — Suggested by the pretty couplet of Zonas 
(Anth. Palat. xi. 43) : 

Aos fxoi tovk yatrjs ir<n:ovr\\iivov ddv kvitzWov, 
as yev6{jL7]v, aa\ ifi a Keicrofi dirocpQifx^vos, 

XIX. — " Ejusmodi Minervse imago an alicubi occurrat. 
ignore" — Jacobs. It must have been extant in the time 
of Leonid as, or the epigram would have had no propriety. 
The reason of the representation, however, would not be 
that assigned by the poet, but the common connexion of 
Pallas and the tettixwith the Athenians; the former being 
the patron deity of Attica, and the latter the symbol of 
the alleged autochthonous origin of the inhabitants. 



66 Notes. 

XXI. — These lines were written about the time of 
Augustus. 

XXII. — A fragment of one of the lost plays of Sophocles* 
The speaker is Menelaus. 

XXIV. — Their Lyre and Crown : i.e. the constellations 
so called. We have not attempted to translate ouS 5 aWtcv 
Aa| tfidpvva %opoi;s. 

XXVI. — The same planet being alternately the morning 
and the evening star. 

XXIX.—" I sent thee late a rosy wreath, 
Not so much honouring thee 
As giving it a hope that there 

It could not withered be ; 
But thou thereon didst only breathe 

And sent' st it back to me ; 
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear, 
Not of itself, but thee." 

Ben Jonson, Song to Celia. 

XXXIV. — This version is from the pen of the late Rev. 
Richard Garnett. 

XLIV. — Imitated from Philodemus (Anth. Palat. v. 
132) : 

El 3' ottlkt) kcu <p\wpa, kclI ovk ddovaa ra ^cmtyovs, 
kcu Hepcrzvs ^Ij/drjs ripacraT* ' Kv§po{xeh7)s. 

XLVII. — It was a lie. This view of the matter is 
not distinctly expressed in the original, but is certainly 
implied. 

XLIX. — Et y&p Zeus kvkj/os, iyca K6p\)los.—-AntipJiilus 
(Anth. Palat. v. 307). 

LI I.— The concluding couplet only. The entire epi- 
gram is thus rendered by Milman : 

" Still Love's sweet voice is trembling in mine ears, 
Still silent flow mine eyes with Love's sweet tears ; 
Nor night nor day I rest ; by magic spells 
Stamped on my soul the well-known image dwells. 



Notes. 67 

O Love ! how swift thy flight to reach the heart ! 
Thy wings are only powerless to depart." 

LIII. — A fragment from the "Kampylion" of the comic 
poet Eubulus. It is thus elegantly paraphrased by 
Cumberland : 

:; Why, foolish painter, give those wings to Love ? 
Love is not light, as my sad heart can prove. 
Love hath no wings, or none that I can see ; 
If he can fly — oh ! bid him fly from me ! " 

LXVII. — "The subject is a picture of a faun holding 
his pipe to his ear and smiling at its imagined music." — 
Wright. 

LXVIII. — Pythagoras enjoined five years' silence on 
his disciples. 

LXIX. — This and the following are imitated from the 
same epigram of Plato, or perhaps of Polemon, king of 
Pontus, as there is hardly the slightest variation between 
the pieces respectively ascribed to them on this subject. 

LXXI. — Suggested by the elegant and anonymous 
epigram on the same subject, Anth. Palat. ix. 325 : 
Tipiv filv dXtK\v(TTov irerpas ivl $£vds<riv rifxav 

evaXZhs irovrov (pvKos diraLvv/jLeua' 
vvv 5e fjLOi i/ULtpoeis koXttccv evrocrOev iavei 
\drpis ivcrrecpduou Ku7rpi5os dfipbs v Epa>s. 

LXXIV. — The ambiguity of the word sanrais has 
enabled Voltaire to imitate this famous epigram with a 
felicity unattainable in English : 

" Je le donne a Venus, puisqu'elle est toujours belle ; 
II redouble trop mes ennuis. 
Je ne saurais me voir, dans ce miroir fidele, 
Ni telle que j'etais, ni telle que je suis." 

The idea of presenting the mirror to Venus, " puisqu'elle 
est toujours belle," is derived from an epigram on the 
same subject by Julianus (Anth. Palat. vi. 18), which 
concludes : 

'AAAct crv fJLOL, Kvdepeia, £exof peorrjTos ircupov 
diaKov, iirel fAQptyr) rrrj y^povov ov rpofx^i. 



68 Notes. 

LXXVI. — A ninefold scroll of amorous poesy. The 
Aa(pviaKci, a collection of short love poems in nine books, 
the first work of Agathias. It is now lost. 

LXXIX.— The Zephyr's shell. The first distich of this 
epigram is usually read : 

Koyx * ^7a>, ZeQvplri, TraXairepov' dWa av vvv /ul€, 
KvirpL, ^eXTjpairjs dvQejxa irpoorov e%€fs. 

But the Nautilus did not cease to be a shell on being dedi- 
cated to Venus. The emendation ira\ai Ttpas is very 
frigid. By reading Zetyvpoto for Zecpvp?Ti all becomes clear, 
and a beautiful thought is elicited. The Nautilus is called 
the shell of Zephyrus because wafted by his breath, as 
subsequently described. We also escape the awkwardness 
of the double address to Venus, as Z€<pvp7ris in the first line, 
and as Kvirpis in the second. — lulls. A town on the island of 
Ceos. — Arsinoe. The sister and consort of Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, who was deified under the title of Venus Arsinoe, 
and to whom a temple was erected on the promontory 
Zephyrium; whence she is called Zephyritis. — Has polished 
me. We have adopted the interpretation of o?5e yap 
ia-QAa p^C €LU proposed in Blackwood's Magazine, vol. 
xxxiv. 

XC. — The gluttony of Hercules was the constant theme 
of the comic poets. See the " Birds " of Aristophanes, 
sub finem, and Epigram CLIX. of this collection. 

XCI. — This Tallcean mount. In Crete. 

XCIII. — XaA/aSas r\v de (pepys, </>tA', aKavdihas, r\ riva 
Qp'urcrav, 
nbaypei' XlBivclv ov yap k^co (pdpvya. 

A nth. Palat. vi. 304. 

XCVII. — Great Pan. The text of this epigram is 
corrupt, and it does not appear from it to what deity 
Cleiton's offering was made. The name of Pan, with 
alyii/0/j.ev, or some corresponding epithet, is probably 
latent in the unintelligible word afxcpLvo^ioiv. Apollonidas, 
the author, is incorrectly called Apollodorus in Smith's 
" Dictionary of Classical Biography." Pie lived in the 



Notes. 69 

time of Tiberius : and it may be here remarked that the 
omission of his numerous and excellent epigrams from the 
Anthology of Philippus is an indication that the latter 
writer flourished under Augustus, and not under Trajan. 

XCVIIL — Leaping lover of the rain. Jacobs' emenda- 
tion, dX/xaonu for At/3acrj. 

CVI. — The first four verses of this epigram have been 
omitted, and the last verse altered. The entire piece is 
thus translated by Major Macgregor : 

" The earth is lately turned, and, yet in bloom, 
The garlands shake their green leaves o'er a tomb : 
To read the scroll, stoop, traveller, and see 
Whose the white bones beneath which hidden be. 
' O stranger, Aretemias is my name, 
In C nidus born, to Euphron's bed I came ; 
I had my share of mother-pains on earth, 
And having borne two children at a birth, 
One have I left-my husband's age to stay, 
And one, his image, bear with me away.' " 

CVII. — A bride. This interpretation of vv^t] is jus- 
tified by the circumstance of Baucis having died on the day 
of her marriage (Anth. Palat. vii. 712). 

CX. — This pathetic and fanciful epigram probably has 
reference to some work of art. We read, with Saimasius, 
iufiaipovTi for infiaivovTi. 

CXIX. — The epitaph of which this is a paraphrase 
seems to have been meant in all seriousness. It was found 
at Cyzicus. Ecce iteruvi Crispinus : 

*Hju.r)i/ crroXapxvs YIovtik&v ve&v iyoo 
i^rjperfxoLS irrepv^iv e^yaK/uLei/oov, 
dva (Trparbu KpLcrirluos eu/cAe?)s duijp' 
'PaBevva 5' r\v \xoi irarpls, dp^aTa ttoKls. 
eyvoos tls rjiurju, KaX twos yeuovs fcvpoo. 
Xolttov <pvXdcr(Tou, jULtj tiv ivdtfo"r}S rd(pcp. 
^iK7]V 5 t>$e£?/9 irapavo/uLQis TVjLifiajpvx&v-, 
4>i(jKq} Te §oo<T7)$ t % B Kal rrj ttoKgl * J A. 



jo Notes. 

CXX. — We have beer. In the original, -n eWaiov fiovs 
filyas elu 3 Aj'5?7. We may be excused for having turned 
the infernal beef into infernal beer, as the learned them- 
selves do not understand this line, and can only explain it 
by conjecturing that ireKXaios may have been the name of 
a small coin, not mentioned elsewhere. Charidas is sup- 
posed to have been a sceptical philosopher, who is ironi- 
cally represented as maintaining his opinions after his 
death; as Dr. Saul Ascher, in Heine's " Reisebilder," 
rises from the grave to argue against the existence of ghosts. 

CXXV. — Lift his limy rods. "The sportsman first 
hung the cage with his call-bird on the bough of a tree, 
under which, or at some convenient distance from it, he 
contrived to conceal himself; and when a bird, attracted 
by the singing of its companion, perched on the branches, 
he quietly inserted his rod amongst the boughs, until it 
reached his prey, which stuck to the lime, and was thus 
drawn to the ground." — Rich, Dictionary of Greek and 
Roman Antiquities, s. v. Arundo. 

CXXVII. — This epigram in its present shape is made 
up out of two : one by Agathias, denouncing vengeance 
against the feline delinquent ; the other by Damocharis, 
from which it would appear that the menace was not 
executed, as Pussy is accused of having contracted a taste 
for partridges, and of neglecting her legitimate food to 
such a degree that the mice came and dined off her plate. 
— Canine raveners, whose ways are sin. The writer was 
an inhabitant of Constantinople, where dogs have always 
been held in slight esteem. — For one gtiiitless life shall 
nine be paid. The threat is differently expressed in the 
original, the plurality of feline lives being one of the few 
things not known to the ancients. 

CXXX. — A drachm. Ninepence three farthings of 
our money if the Attic, fourpence more if the iEginetan 
drachma be understood. 

CXXXIX.— Anth. Palat. xi. 358 : 

avi/ei-GTeu/e ro7s Kaico?s ras cvXhafids. 



Notes. 71 

Cf. Lucian in Somnio, § 14 : Efaare, ecpr/, rep tttooxv 
rovTcp jxr\ KaracriAiKpvvzLV fxov rovvoua' ou yap ^i^oou dwd 
'SifjLoovidrjs bvojAa^oixai. 

CXLI. — See Meleager's poetical introduction to his 
Anthology, where each writer represented in the selection 
is compared to a flower (Anth. Palat. iv. 1). 

CXLII. " I made a compact with a kindred soul 
For mutual interchange of puffery. 
Gods ! how we blew each other ! " 

FlRMILIAN. 

CXLIII. — The thought is Schopenhauer's, " Parerga 
und Paralipomena," ii. § 226. 

CXLVII. — The original refers to a rhetorical or gram- 
matical victory (Anth. Palat. xi. 386) : 

2,rvyvr\v rrjv NIkvjv tls loooi' Kara, rr\v tcoXlv e'x^ey, 

eliTe' 0ea Ni/nj, TLirre Treivovdas dpa ; 
r\ 5' d.TrodvpoijLeuri Kal [xefxcpofievr} Kpidiv, elirei/' 

ovk eyvoos ah \xovos ; UarpiKico oiooixai, 

CL. — An anecdote of Taine. 

CLII. — Atheiiceus, viii. 26. A fragment of the Xpdcu 
of Machon, which seems to have been a collection of good 
stories narrated in iambic verse. — If dory or if lamprey. 
In fact it was a cuttle-fish, which is not usually considered 
a delicacy at the present day, at least in these latitudes. 
It is eaten in the Moluccas, according to Mr. Bickmore 
{Travels in the East Indian Archipelago >, p. 173). Dio- 
genes the Cynic is stated in a fragment of Sotades to have 
died from eating one raw, an atrocity of which Philoxenus 
would have been incapable. 

CLIII. — Founded on an anecdote of the late Emperor 
of Austria. 

CLVI. — A bon-mot of Simonides. 

CLXI. — Imitated from the charming anonymous 
epigram (Anth. Palat. xi. 3): 

^HOeXou av ir\ovre7v, ws ttXovcflos tjv 7roTe Kpo7cros, 
Kal fiacriKevs zlvai rrjs ^yd\7]s 'Aah]s. 



72 Notes. 

dAA' otqlv €jiifi\4\p<a ~Nitcdvopa rov (TopoTrYiydv, 
kclI yv&, irpos ri iroie? raura ra yXcooraoKoua, 

uKrr}v ttov 7rdcrcras, kcu tolls kotuAclls virofipe^as, 
tt\v ^Kaiiqu irwXoo npds juivpa Kal arecpdvovs. 

CLXII. — Suggested by the graceful and solitary epigram 
of Antigonus Carystius, on a frog drowned in a silver cup 
filled with wine and water (Anth. Palat. ix. 406) : 

'Apyvperj Kp'qvr) jj.e, rou ovketl fiaupa jSooovra 
fiarpaxov, olv7)pcus X e ^ eu &*& (rrayoau 

kujjloll §' eV Nv{A<pais, Kzivcus cpiAos, ou§e Avaico 
iX@P ( >s> faf djucporepcau Aovo/llevos (rrayoaiv. 

o\pe ttot 3 els Aiovvcrov eKco/jLaaa. <pev* rives vdcop 
iriyovcTLi/, [xaviqv aaxppova (j.aLvofiei'OL ; 

CLXIII. — "His (Gwythno's) several pursuits composed 
a very harmonious triad. The chase conduced to the 
good cheer of the feast, and to the good appetite which 
consumed it ; the feast inspired the song ; and the song 
gladdened the feast, and celebrated the chase." — The 
Misfortunes of Elphin, by T. L. Peacock, p. 4. 

CLXVII. — This tessetated board. Probably a kind of 
backgammon board, like that on which the Emperor Zeno 
made the remarkable throw which Agathias has described 
without rendering intelligible (Anth. Palat. ix. 482). 

CLXX. — Paraphrase of a Jewish saying translated in 
Mr. Deutsch's celebrated essay on the Talmud in the 
Quarterly Review (vol. cxxiii. p. 461). 



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